Bandits become ‘warr;ors’ to raise money for mental health

It was an evening to raise money for a good cause on Saturday when the Brooks Bandits donned specially designed jerseys that were auctioned off in an event to support mental health.

Tyler King, business manager for the Bandits, said the fundraiser was successful, with 1492 fans in the house and raising more than $5,000 for the Canadian Mental Health Association's Southeast Alberta Division."It went over very nicely. We've been doing the charity jersey fundraiser for about eight years. We have jerseys specially designed for the cause we're raising money for. The players wear them, and then they are auctioned off," said King of the eighth annual event.In the past, they have used to fundraiser to raise money for ALS, Heart and Stroke Foundation, research for Prostate cancer, and for the last couple years for the Canadian Mental Health Association's southeast Alberta division.The jerseys, designed by Matthew McElroy, who has designed most of the Bandits’ special and alternate jerseys, feature a modified version of the team’s new alternate logo which debuted this season on their third jerseys. It also features a prominent “Warr;or” wordmark, a combination of the word “warrior” with the modern mental health and suicide prevention symbol of a semicolon to replace the letter “i." Below the “warr;or” wordmark is the slogan for the night; “Never Give Up”, a reflection of the lifelong effort often required of those who battle with mental health issues. Last year’s slogan, “Break The Silence”, focused on combating the stigma around mental health discussions.The American charity Project Semicolon explains the use of that symbol: “A semicolon is used when an author could’ve ended a sentence but chose not to. You are the author and the sentence is your life.”The Bandits’ special jerseys also featured green as a prominent colour, as it is both the traditional colour of support for mental health initiatives and the main colour in the logo of CMHA. Fans were encouraged to wear their own green clothing to the game.Representatives from Canadian Mental Health were on-site providing information to people in attendance and players relayed mental health messages during the game. Bidding on the jerseys was open until the end of the second intermission.The team would like to thank Coyote Tree Ranching and the Brooks Early Learning Academy for making the night possible, as well as the Canadian Mental Health Association and Full Circle Foundation for Wellness for their assistance in mental health programming for the night.In action on the ice, the Brooks Bandits beat the Whitecourt Wolverines 8-3.